ramblings

Where i work it is a secure dementia area. Before starting with this company/ home i had never worked in a dementia specific area before. i didnt know if it would be for me but now i cant imagine working in any other area in the nursing home.
For the most part dementia is harder on those left to witness the person who has it. I have told many people that i would happily be that little lady who remains some 50 years in the past..she is happy and gorgeously unaware of her surroundings and content with her life. that may be hard for some people to understand but many of the " oldies" (dont mean that disrespectfully) that i care for with dementia arent ill with cancer or particularly frail but more confused and therefore needing care and help with daily living.
The sadness comes when their family comes in to visit and the person doesnt recognise them or is acting in a way thats not typical of the person they were before the dementia took hold. i feel sad when i see their loss as this person who remains is a shell of the person who gave birth to them, or rocked them to sleep etc.
When i was going home the other day from work one of my favourite residents told me that i was a very lucky person to be going home. She is right, i am lucky to have my independance, i can come and go as i please, i can go to bed when i want, i can have what i want to eat no matter how silly my choices may seem to some people.
Even the best nursing home with the most up to date attitudes still have a long way to go in my opinion. can you imagine what its like to give up just about everything you have come to know as your life when you come into a nursing home..that must be horrible and something that we cant really comprehend i dont think.
on days where i am whining about one thing or another i am going to remind myself of just how lucky i really am!
hugs bell :)